Ibrox directors have ‘huge’ responsibility as Giovanni van Bronckhorst fights Rangers sack
The Rangers board must now make a “huge” decision over the future of Giovanni van Bronckhorst, as suggested by Brian Laudrup.
The former Gers player turned pundit wrote in his column for The Scottish Daily Mail (8 November) that the Ibrox hierarchy cannot afford to wait until before World Cup to make the decision.
Laudrup personally feels that Van Bronckhorst has been struggling at the moment, and the club either need to stick with him or sack him.
“A huge responsibility sits on the shoulders of the Ibrox directors. I’m sure they recognise that, but I don’t think they can wait for weeks to make a decision on the way forward. It has to be quicker and the start of the World Cup shutdown provides a clear opportunity,” wrote Laudrup for the Scottish Daily Mail (page 70).
“There are some obvious questions to be considered. Most basically, what can Rangers do with this squad and who is the best manager to achieve that vision?
“Is it Van Bronckhorst? Does he need more time on the training pitch and maybe the January transfer window? Will that solve any of the issues?
“If they decide to stick, I think they need to come out soon and say they believe in Van Bronckhorst and will give him every opportunity to turn things around this season. That might get a rocky response but everyone would know where they stood.
“Otherwise, if they decide Van Bronckhorst can’t stop the rot, they have to make a change before it gets worse. Just letting things rumble on could become unbearable for all concerned.
I do feel the odds are definitely against Van Bronckhorst now.”
Spot on
Laudrup is absolutely spot on here. The Gers are seven points behind Celtic at the moment, and the club cannot wait further to make a decision.
Van Bronckhorst took the club to the finals of the Europa League last season and also won the Scottish Cup, which is a fantastic achievement.
But, he also underachieved in parts last season, as the Bears failed to mount a serious title challenge despite having a healthy lead over Celtic for a large part of the campaign.
Yes, there are problems at the club. Van Bronckhorst hasn’t been helped with injury issues, while he lost several key players in the summer window.
But, he is equally to blame. His tactics have been very poor and some of his decisions have been really baffling.
The football being played is boring, unimaginative and there is no creativity at all. This is a sign that the manager is out of his wit’s end, and thus a big change is required.
In other Rangers news, this Celtic chief wants private talks with the Gers after an incident that was brought up at their AGM.